Walton Library rescue will be celebrated with literary festival

Walton library, which form part of Walton primary school, has been earmarked for closure.'Headteacher David Dickinson and Colin Moran pictured with pupils Will Talbot, Madeleine Easter and Conor Nichols.'w311b238

Published:14:00Saturday 06 April 2013

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Walton Library has reopened after being rescued by members of the community.

And to celebrate its reopening, writer and broadcaster Ian Clayton will headline a literary festival later this month.

The library, which is part of Walton Primary School, looked doomed last summer when Wakefield Council announced it could no longer afford to run it.

Other libraries at Outwood and Balne Lane also fell victim to the cuts and are now closed.

But the Friends of Walton Library (FOWL), a group of village volunteers, have now taken over the running of the library.

And headteacher of the school, David Dickinson, said it was a great result for the children.

He said: “We are really fortunate to have a community library attached to our school and see it as a way to instil in our children a love of books and reading.”

A programme of six free literary events, three open to the public and three for Walton Primary School pupils, will take place over three weeks.

John Goodchild will host an evening of history on Thursday, April 18, telling of a feud between Walton Hall’s most famous resident Charles Waterton and soap works owner Edward Thornhill “Soapy” Simpson.

It will take place at St Paul’s Church, on The Balk, at 7pm.

Walton author Barbara Phipps will talk about how to get work published, in a ‘meet the author’ event at the library on Thursday, April 25 at 7pm.

And Ian Clayton will provide the finale, performing at Walton Primary School on Thursday, May 2 from 6.30pm.